Two Minutes
by flooj9235
Summary: Dr. Li's frantic announcement sounded strange in Kit's ears. The purifier would explode if they didn't hurry up and activate it in the next two minutes. Lethal levels of radiation meant that whoever went in wasn't coming back out. F!LW/Sarah. Femslash. Oneshot.


Two minutes. That's all they had.

Dr. Li's frantic announcement had sounded strange in Kit's ears. The purifier was misbehaving, going to explode, if they didn't hurry up and activate it in the next two minutes. Lethal levels of radiation meant that whoever went in wasn't coming back out.

Kit turned slowly, looking over at Sarah Lyons, her best friend, her closest companion out in the wasteland. The blonde woman was strong, smart, and everything Kit loved.

Sarah's eyes were still confused, but there was muted horror becoming more and more apparent in her gaze.

"Are you still there? Someone has to get in there and activate it, now!" Dr. Li still sounded panicky, and there were alarms going off in the background. Static garbled the rest of the transmission, and the purifier started creaking and groaning.

"Sarah..." Kit couldn't quite get her voice to work.

"Don't even start," the soldier warned shakily. "I'll do it."

"No!" The ferocity of Kit's voice startled both of them. "Sarah, no, please. This is my family's thing. I need to finish it."

"I can't let you," Sarah responded instantly, looking over Kit's shoulder into the purifier and shaking her head. "I'm not going to let you die in there."

"Lyons!" Kit cried, images of Sarah's corpse crumbling to the floor scaring her more than anything else ever had. Tears burned in her eyes and she brushed them away frustratedly. "We don't have time to fight about this! I'm going in there, okay? The Pride needs you!" She set her jaw and moved to push past the soldier and head into the purifier.

The blonde woman stepped in front of Kit, blocking her path with a snarl. "Fuck that! Kit, I just-I can't let you die. Don't make me go on without you." The soldier suddenly looked vulnerable, more so than Kit had ever seen.

Dr. Li interjected with a time, ninety seconds, and told them to hurry.

Kit paused, gazing up at the blonde woman. Behind the stubbornness she was famous for, Kit saw genuine fear in Sarah's eyes and it puzzled her. "Sarah?"

"I'm not letting you die," Sarah repeated, giving the purifier another desperate look as it gurgled loudly. "Look, 101, I..."

Kit knew time was running out and decided she wasn't going to botch her last chance to tell Sarah how she felt about her. "Sarah, I have to tell you something."

The loud groaning of metal came from the purifier and both women cringed.

"Sarah-"

"Kit, I love you." Sarah's voice was anguished. "Please don't make me watch you die."

Kit was flabbergasted, gaping up at the blonde woman.

Sarah shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at Kit. "I know you probably don't... I mean, I just..."

"I love you, too," Kit confessed, her words nearly drowned out by the strained noises of the purifier.

Sarah gawked for a second or two, looking overcome with relief and awe a second later.

Kit leaned forward, enthralled by the emotions in Sarah's blue eyes. The soldier closed the gap and crashed their lips together in a desperate kiss.

Kit's mind went blank, everything focused on the rough kiss that was all Sarah. While the power armor they were wearing hadn't even been part of her fantasy, the taste of Sarah on her lips was more perfect than she could have dreamed. She responded to the kiss with a passion she hadn't known she was capable of, trying to make every second count.

They broke apart when air became an issue, foreheads pressed together as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Stay," Kit breathed, desperate to protect the woman she loved in her last moments alive. "For me."

Sarah was about to protest, but Kit stretched up to kiss her again. They just stared at each other after the quick brush of their lips, knowing there wasn't enough time to say anything.

Kit offered the blonde a little smile and stepped around her, cycling the airlock and sealing herself off from the soldier.

Sarah turned and watched helplessly, looking ready to ram through the door, but Kit just mouthed "I love you" to her through the glass, turning to the large console and entering in the code. Her hand hovered over the enter key for a moment and she closed her eyes, thinking of the kiss she'd just shared with Sarah as she pressed the key.

A burst of light and heat sent her reeling, and she turned around, catching herself on the glass walls of the chamber. Her vision was fuzzy and she did her best to smile at Sarah's ghostly image before everything faded to black.

* * *

Kit was aware of blood rushing in her ears. Agony burned through every nerve in her body moments later, and she tried to tear herself out of unconsciousness. She woke with a gasp, clawing at the air above her and trying to make sense of what was happening. Every sense was on high alert, trying to find the cause of the pain, but before she could, the pain overwhelmed her and she heard herself crying out.

There was a muffled groan from somewhere beside her, and Kit prayed her muscles would work and claw out her attacker's eyes, but then strong hands caught her wrists. Her skin burned at the touch, but then a light clicked on and she saw Sarah's blue eyes and the flash of the soldier's smile.

"Hey there, 101," Sarah rasped out, cringing a little at the rawness of her throat.

"Sarah." Confusion and relief burst in Kit's mind and she felt tears burning in her eyes. She pulled one of her hands from Sarah's grasp, reaching up and cupping the blonde woman's pale cheek. "You're okay."

"Yeah. You?" Sarah's awed gaze never left Kit's, despite the soldier pressing into the Wanderer's touch.

Kit managed a nod. "Hurts, but I'm here."

Sarah grinned, blinking away tears. She leaned heavily against Kit's cot, the blood draining from her face the longer she was upright.

Kit shifted as best she could, looping an arm around Sarah's neck and giving her a gentle tug. The blonde woman fell onto the little bed beside her easily, curling against Kit and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Don't you ever do that again," Sarah muttered, wrapping an arm around Kit and nuzzling her face into Kit's neck.

Kit smiled. "Yes, ma'am." She listened to Sarah's breathing for a moment, a rush of emotion flooding her brain. "Sarah?"

The soldier hummed out a response.

"What happened?"

Sarah huffed against Kit, pulling her closer. "Rothschild can tell you the technical stuff later. I wasn't thinking, I just ran in. 'Bout rammed the door down. Figured I'd either go down with you or keep you here with me." She lifted her head and gazed into Kit's eyes. "Glad it worked out this way."

Kit nodded tearfully, grinning at her soldier and kissing her gently. "Thank you," she breathed, ignoring the aching of her body and enjoying the warm, protective embrace Sarah had enveloped her in.

"Love you, 101," Sarah answered softly, tracing gentle patterns on Kit's back.

The door creaked open and careful footsteps came in, but neither woman cared enough to see who it was.

"Sarah?" The elder's voice was panicked as he realized his daughter wasn't in her bed.

"Over here, Dad," the soldier responded. "Kit's awake."

"Ah." The footsteps came slightly closer, lingering far enough away to give the women some privacy. "Are you both all right?"

"Yes, sir," Kit answered, burying her red cheeks in the crook of Sarah's neck.

"Yeah, Dad. Everything's fine." The relief in Sarah's voice didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

"Good," Elder Lyons decided. "I'll let you two rest, then." His footsteps retreated to the door, which closed with a soft click.

"That's not the way I expected to tell him," Kit mumbled, earning a laugh from the blonde.

"He'll just be glad I found someone to settle down with," Sarah answered, going oddly quiet a split second later. "If you want to, I mean."

The famed Lone Wanderer smiled and nodded against Sarah. "After everything that's happened? I can't think of anything better than settling down with you."

Sarah relaxed and pressed her cheek against Kit's head. "Great."

They didn't say much else, holding each other close. That they had the opportunity for a future together was amazing to both of them, and neither knew how to express it other than a few more shared kisses and admissions of love.

After a while, her still-healing body decided it was too exhausted to stay awake, and Kit dozed off in her soldier's arms, a smile on her face and her lover in her arms.


End file.
